Circles
by Miss. RoseGold
Summary: They're born again and again, but somehow, they always manage to find each other. GREENS.
1. There and Back Again

**Circles**

**Summary:** _They're born again and again, but somehow, they always manage to find each other. GREENS._

**Authors note: **Somehow, I don't think that the universe is done with these two yet.

Somewhat of an AU I guess? They're reborn again and again, so it's different each time. Just something I thought of and wanted to write out.

Oh yeah, and it's going to have multiple chapters.

The Powerpuff Girls don't belong to me and as always they have human appendages.

Lyric's belong to Post Malone.

_There and Back Again - they always find each other. _

* * *

**There and Back Again**

_Seasons change and our love went cold_

_Feed the flame 'cause we can't let go_

_Run away, but we're running in circles_

_Run away, run away_

.

XxX

Sometimes you open your eyes and you're in a new place.

A new life even. But you're still the same person.

Almost.

You're born again and again. Sometimes you know who you are right away, but other times it takes you longer to remember.

You are Buttercup Utonium.

You remember the first time you were reborn: you weren't with your sisters and you were living with a different family. And above all else: you had no idea what the fuck was going on.

You could remember everything from your past life so clearly. You had died from old age of all things. You should be dead. Should be, but you weren't, you were very much alive. You remembered a bright white light and suddenly, there you were: alive and young, in a new house with a new family, with no sisters and no professor.

You lived though that life, feeling like you weren't at ease in your own skin until you died and then you woke up again in a different life with still now clue what was going on – only that you kept coming back again and again living different lives each time.

As time goes and this happens again and again, you start noticing slight variations about the lives you lead:

It seems like you would be reborn every couple of decades. You know this because the first thing you do when you open your eyes and see that you're in an unfamiliar place; is look at what year it is and then compare it to when you originally died. You've lived almost several centuries over and that still feels weird to say.

Sometimes you have your powers, other times you don't. Those times particularly suck.

But you don't complain. You can't anyways, there's no one to complain to; people would think you're crazy. Besides, it's interesting to lead a quote on quote _"normal life"_. It lets you see what your life could have been like if you had been born normally without the professor creating you and your sisters by accident.

Oh, the professor. You miss him. You miss him a lot.

You miss your sisters too. Sometimes your born into a family with siblings that look like them, but aren't quite them. Other times it's just you. Those times are particularly lonely.

You're still not sure why this keeps happening to you, because as far as you know, it seems like it _only_ happens to you. You haven't run into your sister's reincarnations yet and you don't know if you ever will, but you always figured that the universe wasn't done with you yet.

You still look like yourself. That much will never change.

You might have lived multiple lives over, but your trademark looks that stemmed from your original life have never changed. Hair black as night, eyes as bright and sharp and green as sun drenched grass, bone and muscle structure tall and strong like a modern-day sex symbol – you are an attractive woman. You know it, and so does everybody else.

You are Buttercup Utonium. But not quite.

People tell you that you look like her – that you have some sort of uncanny resemblance to the old heroine – and it takes everything you have not to laugh at the comparison. You look like her because you _are_ her. But you can't tell them that.

It can be a very lonely existence at times.

Despite the many changes that happen during every cycle, there is one other thing that hasn't changed aside from your looks. Not a thing, rather – but a person.

You always manage to find _him._ And he always finds you.

Butch.

It's like you're magnetically drawn to each other. You find him even when you're not looking. Sometimes it takes you longer to find him. Sometimes you don't remember him right away, and sometimes he doesn't recognize you. But he always appears with you in every new life you're thrown into.

You don't know how or why he reappears with you, but you distinctly remember seeing him in every new life. Again, there are times you don't remember him right off the bat, but every time you meet up with his latest reincarnation, there is something so achingly familiar about him that it makes you stick around, and then it all comes rushing back to you.

Are his brothers here? Is it just him? You're not sure. You've never gotten an answer out of him, but you assume not.

If your sisters aren't with you, then his brothers probably aren't with him. It's a sad thought, but it's the most plausible one. _Damn counterpart theory._You think to yourself. It still haunts you even years after your technical death.

Despite everything, you're glad that he's here. He's the only one that you know from your first life. He's perhaps the only person who knows and remembers your shared pasts – the only one who you can talk to about what's happening to you both (when you both remember each other that is), and more importantly… you had a life with him in the past.

Your original one, that is.

It seems like you and him have some unfinished business.

So, for every life you live, for every time you open your eyes and find yourself in a new place with no memory of how you got there – you relax slightly, because you know that he's out there somewhere. You just have to find him.

That or he'll find you.


	2. Eternity

**Circles**

**Authors Note: **The Powerpuff girls do not belong to me either and as always, they have human appendages

_Eternity – The universe wasn't done with them yet. _

* * *

**Eternity**

.

XxX

Half the time, you're convinced that the universe has no idea what the fuck it's doing.

After the initial shock of coming back from the supposed dead every several decades wore off – you began to wonder if the reason why you kept coming back was because you had something important to do that you keep missing every time you reappeared, or if it was because the world just wasn't finished with you yet.

You have no clue. You liked to entertain the idea that it was because the world still needed your help, even after all this time. You're not always reborn with the same powers that you had been gifted with in your original life, but you try to protect the world as best you can in other ways.

But if you're here for that reason, then why was Butch brought back with you?

Maybe it was some sort of eternal punishment from one of his fathers, the devil Himself? But that didn't make much sense. Him had been awfully quiet since the official death of the Rowdyruff Boys. Last you'd heard, he had gone back to the dark zone where you and your sisters had first encountered him to grieve the death of the boys and Mojo. So, it was very likely that he had no idea about your current predicament.

In the end, you found it was pointless to question it, because you know that you would never know the reason behind why you and Butch kept coming back in the first place.

You didn't know why you're thinking about it now. Maybe it was because you're seventeen again and the boy who looked so much like Butch was sitting two rows directly in front of you in your high school biology class.

You'd found each other again. Earlier this time around too. This had to be your seventh life. Meaning this was the seventh version of him that you've met.

You drown out the teacher who was droning on about the circulatory system (it didn't matter, you know it all already), and focus your attention on the boy's broad back. _Did he remember you like you remember him?_ You haven't gotten the chance to talk to him since he had transferred into your class at the beginning of the semester. Sometimes it took you both longer to realize it was each other, but other times… other times the connection was instant.

Almost as if he heard your thoughts, the boy with the spiky black hair turned around and sent you a knowing grin and a wink before turning back around in his seat.

You let out a silent snort and smirk to yourself as you go back to taking notes. It didn't really matter if you spend the rest of time dying and coming back to life, because at least you get to spend eternity with him.


	3. We Meet Again

**Circles**

**Authors Note:** The Powerpuff girls do not belong to me either and as always, they have human appendages.

*I'd recommend looking up the song mentioned: it'll make this make more sense.

_We Meet Again – They always do._

* * *

**We Meet Again **

.

XxX

You don't know how you found yourself in the dusty old music shop just off the corner of downtown Townsville, but somehow you do.

Honestly, you're amazed that the place is still open considering all the streaming services the past hundred years has provided, but you're not complaining. Its probably more or less because the building is considered to be a historic landmark now, but you digress.

You know that it used to be one of your favourite spots to visit in your original life. Like you; the place has withstood the test of time relatively well, the only difference being that it's a lot older and more outdated than it used to be. But it's still here. Amazingly, it still stands despite how much the rest of the city has changed around it in the past century.

You're currently flipping though the vinyl section. There's a record player in the corner beside you that looks like it hasn't been touched in years, and an even older looking record lying under the needle. You continue to flip aimlessly through the albums – not paying attention to your surroundings – when the door to the shop opens with a bang.

It still doesn't make you look up, even as the store attendant mutters a few choice words at the newest patron. You don't pay them any mind, until the person responsible for slamming the door open brushes past you with a little too much physical content to be necessary.

You slap the record you were holding down, and turn around – eyes damn near glowing despite not having any powers – ready to give the asshat a piece of your mind, until you lock eyes with him and-

_Holy shit. _

That damn record player seemingly turns itself on and starts playing the cracked old record under the needle. The grainy war-time sounds of Vera Lynn's _We'll Meet Again, _softly crackly out of the ancient speakers as you look at Butch.

It's not quite him, but it's him and you know it. Judging from the half-startled, half-cocky grin he's wearing as he stares back at you – he knows it's you too.

Huh. The song was more fitting then anyone else knew.

His smirk morphed into something softer. "Well, well." You match the soft grin with one of your own. "So, we meet again."

"Looks like it." he's smiling now, one of those genuine, crooked smiles that only you and the rest of your past lives got to see. "It's good to see you again."

You feel an all-too familiar sense of calm wash over you at his words, and you mean it when you say: "You too, Butch."


	4. Meant to Be

**Circles**

**Authors Note:** The Powerpuff girls do not belong to me either and as always, they have human appendages.

_Meant to Be – They find each other again, but they're with other people._

* * *

**Meant to Be**

.

XxX

The next time you meet Butch, you don't recognize him right away.

The next time you meet him is much more…. Awkward? Tense? Dare you say _gut-wrenching_ then your previous encounters – because the next time you meet him, he's not alone, and neither are you.

The next time you run into him is at a crowed coffee shop and there's nowhere else for you to sit except for a half full booth with him and a girl sitting off to one side, so you've squeezed your way into the booth across from him, with a muttered greeting – but this time it's different from all the other times you've encountered him:

You're with your boyfriend, and he's with his _girlfriend._

Some nameless girl with bleach-blonde hair, who smiles with too much teeth and wears too much perfume. She introduces herself to you but you've all but tuned her out as you stare at the man sitting across the table from you.

You know him. You know you do. You just can't remember where from. And judging from the expression that he's wearing on his face; he's thinking the exact same thing.

The four of you exchange pleasantries and talk excitedly amongst each other. Well, your boyfriend and his _girlfriend _do. You and him just stare at each other, not even listening to their conversation, until they agree to go bring back drinks for everyone and leave the booth together, leaving you and him alone.

You're not really alone though and you know it. The coffee house is filled to the brim with people, but it might as well have been just the two of you in there as far as you're concerned.

He doesn't say anything and neither do you. You're too busy trying to figure out where you know him from. Those dark green eyes are hard to forget about after all. A minute passes. Then two. Then three.

"This is wrong." He finally speaks. You quirk an eyebrow at him. "How so?" you ask.

He looks around, making sure his _girlfriend _isn't nearby, before stooping over and dropping his voice to mutter, "I think you and I are supposed to be together."

You narrow your bright green eyes. "That's a fucking thing to say. Considering you've just met me."

"But I don't think we have." He speaks slowly, as if he doesn't quite understand what he's saying either. "I think we've met before… I know it."

"Like where?" you challenge him, but secretly you want to know too. You want to know why he looks so familiar, and why you were instantly drawn to him as soon as you saw him.

"In the past." He responds vaguely, not losing the confused expression – but there's a spark of familiarity in those all too familiar eyes.

He shakes his head, obsidian spikes not moving from the all the product he's put in his hair. "No, _we're_ supposed to be together. Not you and him, not me and her. Us. It should be us."

It's like lightning has struck you and knocked the air out of your lungs, because suddenly you can't fucking breathe. A fog has lifted in your head and it's like you're seeing him clearly for the first time.

_Butch._

That means- if he's here and so are you then…

Fuck.

_Fuck._

He's right. It should be you and him. It always has been. So why is this time different?

Your fucking soul _jumps_ at the thought of having found him again. Of just leaving the coffee shop together because god knows you both hate coffee and crowds, so you don't even know why you agreed to come here in the first place- and yet, don't.

You won't. Something is stopping you.

"Let's go." He says suddenly, giving you that crooked grin of his. "Let's get out of here." You pause. "What about your-" Jesus Christ you can't even say it. "-what about _her_?"

A shrug. "Meh. She's just someone who I get along with." He jerks a thumb in the direction that she and your boyfriend took off to with a lopsided grin. "Besides, looks like she's getting along pretty well with your date anyways."

You snort at that. Your boyfriend has always been the social type. You're not even sure how you ended up together to be honest. He's someone that Bubbles would typically go for, not you.

He looks at you again. "Let's get out of here." He repeats. This time you shake your head, feeling knives stab at your heart. He sits back and regards you with an expressionless face.

"Him?" he asks, but its not really a question.

"He's not you, but he tries. He makes me happy. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"It's not the same as what we have. But I don't just give up on people. I won't do it."

He closes his eyes and runs a hand though his hair as he lets out a winded sigh. "I know."

"Look at me." You almost beg him. He does after a moment. "I'm not going to up and leave him for reasons that nobody else except for us will understand. It's not fair. You know that."

He sighs again. "I know."

More knives impale your already aching heart. "Let's just see what happens." You swallow hard. You don't want to say this to him. You never _dreamed _you'd be saying this to him. You want to leave with him. To run away and never stop running. But you also have morals, and you won't break them. It's not your way. You've found each other again, but it's not the right time.

"I'll find you. I've found you once already. I'll find you again."

Butch is silent, which is never really a good thing. You bite your lip nervously, half expecting him to flip the table and stalk out in a blind rage. But he doesn't do that. He's still silent. Finally, he speaks, but it's not at all what you'd thought he'd say.

"I'll wait for you."

You have to fight the urge to bolt out of the coffee shop so no one can see the tears that are pooling in your eyes. But you can't leave, because you didn't come here alone, and neither did he.

Your boyfriend and his _girlfriend_ eventually make their way back to the table and seem to be oblivious to the agony that you're in, as they continue to talk non-stop to each other about things that don't matter. And for the next hour and a half, you're forced to sit and listen to them talk, while you look across the booth at the one person who truly has your heart and always will.


	5. Gone

**Circles**

**Authors Note:** The Powerpuff girls do not belong to me either and as always, they have human appendages.

_Gone – She remembers and goes to find him, but he's been gone a long time. _

* * *

**Gone**

.

XxX

You're sitting in a mostly empty study hall at your university, trying (and somewhat failing) to cram for your finals, when suddenly it hits you:

You remember who you are, and subsequently, you remember Butch.

You take off out of the study hall and book it off campus in a blind rush because it's been too long and you need to find out where he is.

Of course, he could be anywhere and you know that. So, you do the most rational thing you can think of and go to the nearest library database to see if you can look him up.

At first, you're worried because what if you can't find him? What if he goes under a completely different name? Or he lives in a different state – hell, a different country even? But then you stop and remember that the universe loves to fuck with you both, and it always has a way of bringing you together again.

If it wants you to find him, then you will – or he'll find you, but he's slow and you've always been an impatient woman.

It takes you a while – you have to dig deep through local records before branching out more. You have to search hard – you know you look like a hardcore stalker to anyone passing by, but you don't care. All you know is that you're going to find him, and eventually you do.

When you finally, finally, _finally_ find him, your heart drops into your stomach and your blood turns to ice because you can't believe what you're reading.

You find him, but it's not at all where you expected him to be.

The information you find on this Butch, takes you to a small graveyard outside of Townsville. Over the centuries, you've watched how your beloved city has changed from a monster-ridden mess into a futuristic utopia – but this place seems untouched – like it's frozen in a time when you and him were yourselves.

You move through the rows of tombstones silently, dread building in the pit of your stomach until you come across what you were looking for, but hoped didn't exist.

You're looking down at a new tombstone. The smooth rock has nothing growing on it, unlike its neighbors on either side. The earth in front of the tombstone still looks freshly packed down and you don't want to think about what lies six feet beneath it.

You can't. It's going to break you, and you know it.

But you have to. You have to make sure. So, you force yourself to look more clearly at the tombstone – more specifically, what's _written _on it, and you feel your heart shatter.

_Butch Johnson_

_2398 - 2423_

_Beloved son and brother_

How. How the hell did this happen? You were young! Barely even 25! You were still in university for Christ sake! You don't know what Butch had been up to in this life – all you know is that he was too young to die! You always knew he was reckless, that was a given – but what could he have possibly done to get himself killed?

Your knees are threatening to give out from under you, but you force yourself to keep standing, even as you feel big, hot tears well up in your eyes, and poorly suppressed sobs choke you.

This had never happened before. His reincarnations had never died before you got to meet him and neither had you. You're not sure how to handle this, and honestly, you don't know if you can.

The tears you've been holding back finally win and you start howling as you sink down in front of the tombstone, because he's not supposed to die before you find him. He's not supposed to and _how dare he leave you alone. _

This is the most intense grief you can remember feeling in a long time. And it's worse because you know he's truly gone from this life, and you can't tell anyone about this, because they won't understand.

You sit there for hours, too numb to move, and cry to the tombstone of a boy who you know can't hear you. If it were any other time, you would have been embarrassed to allow yourself to fall into such a state, but you can't stop the tears no matter how much you try, and every time you do, more seem to come.

As more time passes, you gradually stop, but the grief is only replaced by loneliness and that's an even worse feeling, because you know that you're going to have to wait _years_ before you meet him again.

And you've always been an impatient woman.


	6. Memory

**Circles**

**Authors Note:** The Powerpuff girls do not belong to me either and as always, they have human appendages.

_Memory – She doesn't quite remember him, but he remembers her. _

* * *

**Memory**

.

XxX

You're taking your lunch break at Townsville's local park, absentmindedly working on grading test papers for your overseeing professor on a park bench. You sigh through your nose as you tuck a strand of dark hair behind your ear.

God you hated working on your breaks, but you had been putting off grading for long enough. End of term was coming up fast and these needed to be put into the system by the end of the week. If your professor didn't promise to pay you double time you would've never agreed. There were close to four hundred tests in the stack of papers beside you that you had to go through. If you weren't as good in human kinetics as you were, it probably would take you twice as long to do, but thankfully you were top of your class; graduated early with honors. This was easy to do. Just tedious.

You're so wrapped up in your work that you don't even notice as a shadow falls over you, blocking out the sun.

"Well fuck me. Look who it is."

A rough voice catches your attention, and suddenly a large body drops into the seat across from you. You look up, only to come face to face with a well-built man in a black leather jacket. He smirks at you and you raise an eyebrow at him. "Hey babe. Long time no see."

The first thing you shamelessly think of while you're giving him a once over is how attractive he is. The second is, _why does he look so familiar?_ You would remember a face like his. The guy looks like he just stepped off a damn _Vogue_ cover, if those cheekbones had anything to say about it.

You would remember those eyes, if nothing else. His eyes were a shade of green that you had never seen before. They were so green that they were almost black, and yet you could see yourself reflected perfectly in them.

You don't think you've seen him before. And yet there is a nagging part of you that is telling you that you have. But from where?

You feel the edges of your lips turn up, amused. "Do I know you?"

He sends you another knowing smirk that somehow manages to irritate and intrigue you. "You do, but it's been a while, so I don't blame you for not recognizing me."

"So, where have we met then?" You challenge him, but it's lighthearted.

"We've met many times. But not here. Like I said, it's been a while." He runs a hand through his thick black spikes and sends you an apologetic look, not losing the grin. "Sorry about making you wait so long Sunshine."

The nickname triggers something in you. It's like a light switch has flicked on in your brain and you pause as you look at him again, closer this time. Those dark green eyes are so familiar-

The gears click into place suddenly and the world seems to slow down as everything comes flooding back to you. _You do know him. _

You lean in and lower your voice. "Butch?"

He snorts, but he looks relieved. "Took you long enough."

"Says you. It's been how long exactly?" He averts his eyes as you look pressingly at him. "I'd rather not think about it. Makes me feel really fucking old."

"Well, we technically _are_ really fucking old." You point out with a snort, before you allow him a small, laughing smile. "You look good, in your old age."

"Yeah well, same to you. But you always look good. We've gotta be pushing what? A couple hundred-"

"Don't say it."

"Yeah I'll shut the fuck up now."

You both laugh and suddenly the wall of hesitation that had been surrounding the pair of you, melts away, and it's just you and him again. He reaches across the table for your hand, and you give him one of yours. Relishing the feeling of his skin on yours again.

Just like old times after all.

Suddenly, you realize just how long its been since you last ran into each other.

Tears prick at the corners of your eyes and blur your vision as you look down at your intertwined hands. The next thing you know, you feel them rolling down your cheeks before you can stop them.

You wipe them away quickly; hoping that he didn't notice, but Butch has always been observant when it comes to you. He frowns and leans in. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" he reaches for your face with his free hand. "I'm sorry I took so long to find you. But I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere, I promise-"

"It's not that." You cut him off. You look down at your intertwined hands again and gave his a squeeze.

"I've just waited a really long time to touch you again."


End file.
